Buying a new apartment in Athens has become increasingly difficult, if not impossible, for most prospective homeowners, as sale prices for newly built properties continue to soar. What was once a standard aspiration for middle-class Greeks in the early 2000s, has now become a privilege for the few.
According to new data from Prosperty, just 29,839 new homes built since 2020 are currently listed for sale across Attica, representing only 22.7% of the total housing stock on the market. The average price for new constructions built between 2020 and 2025 stands at a whooping €4,000 per square meter.
Even the lowest new-home prices, around €3,600 per square meter in Nea Smyrni, remain out of reach for most buyers. Prices in the southern suburbs of Athens, such as Voula (€7,275/m²) and Glyfada (€6,400/m²), highlight the divide between what the market builds and what locals can afford.
Paradoxically, the areas with the highest prices are also those seeing the most new construction, as developers chase higher profit margins through luxury projects aimed at international clients.
A key driver behind the surge in new-home prices is the rising cost of land and construction, including materials and labor. Costs have climbed sharply since 2022, following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, which disrupted global supply chains and cemented today’s high prices.
Call for affordable housing revival
Industry experts warn that Greece’s housing market has drifted too far toward high-end development, leaving most domestic buyers behind. They argue that policy incentives should focus on redirecting it toward affordable housing, rather than luxury properties.
Prosperty’s analysis of 28,700 transactions on the Greek real estate market underscores this gap: the average sale price across all homes is €105,000, or €1,330 per square meter, barely one-quarter of the price of a new apartment.
